Private Secret Tunnel!

[Klar]

"I'm honestly not sure." Klar chuckled, settling in with Xuko beside her. After the episode in the cave, the relatively placid setup of camping, and the emotionally fraught conversation that'd followed? It was simply nice to exist next to each other. Physical proximity with no expectations. Klar was very much a touchy sort of person, and Xuko wasn't so much - this felt like a nice compromise, even if she gathered that he didn't mind her contact quite so much. "I'd be happy to spar with you, though! It'll be a great way of getting a better idea of what we're each capable of."

The blonde stretched her legs out languidly, peering upwards as the sun steadily made her way towards the horizon. The afternoon was getting tired now. Bugs were waking up, the light was dimming a little. Soon sunbathing wouldn't be worth it. But that was fine. They had a fire and hanging out by that waiting for them. And whatever came tomorrow. Hikes and swimming.

"I like Soresu." Klar mused thoughtfully. "It makes sense to me. I want to protect people. I don't want to hurt anyone if I don't have to." She explained. "Probably related to that, I also have a soft spot for Form Five. Shien just makes sense to me, but I'm less comfortable with it than I am with Soresu."

She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "I guess, though, it mostly depends on how you define 'strongest'. If you're asking what form I have the most technical skill in, it's probably Soresu. If you're asking what I'd best be able to strike somebody down with, that's probably still Jar'Kai." Klar added. "Even if I'm not exceptionally good or practiced at it, most opponents aren't used to fighting somebody with four hands. I try not to rely too heavily on the tactic of overwhelming somebody when I spar, but it is a pretty consistent way to score hits."

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko enjoyed hearing the reasons behind decisions being made, and it further helped that they were discussing battle tactics. Although he sensed that he and Klar had differing ideologies when it came to how best to end a fight- Xuko, by contrast, had no qualms about subjecting his opponents to a little Vorr'kath Zhen- he couldn't accuse the Codru-Ji of not thinking things through. He also had to admit that her more pacifistic style was more likely to be approved of by their instructors, since Jedi were not supposed to be needlessly violent. Xuko was of the opinion that it could be dangerous to put too much focus into not hurting an opponent who was actively trying to kill you, but kept that thought to himself; not wanting to interrupt Klar's stream of words.

Funny how time spent with Klar flew by. Xuko glanced at the sun and judged there to be a few hours of daylight left, but not much of it would be ideal for sunbathing. Sooner or later they'd have to turn their attention to dinner and a campfire; Xuko, sensing that this particular conversation had likely run its course, decided to take advantage of the natural break.

"Thank you for your insight" he said, brushing an intrepid bug off of himself and sitting up on the towel. "It will be evening soon, and we can build the fire we spoke of earlier" he suggested. A fire probably wasn't necessary on a jungle planet like Tython, but if Klar wanted an authentic camping experience then a campfire was absolutely needed.

A thought occurred to him as he stood up and considered the food in his go bag. He had no expectation that Klar had packed food for him- Iridonian diets were very unique- but he realized he should probably include something in his bag that Klar enjoyed, now.

"How is your spice tolerance?"

Klar

 

[Klar]

"Oh, awful." Klar laughed, springing up from her towel. "I thought I had a fairly good tolerance, comparatively? And then I came here, and everybody's eating the spiciest things I've tasted in my entire life like it's no big deal." She complained good-naturedly as she scooped up her towel and flopped some of the sand off of it. "Now, I don't want to say that I'm a completely lost cause. I'll try anything once... but if we make chili, please don't laugh if I dress it up with sour cream and a fistful of crackers?"

Klar bound back to her tent with her things, idly tossing in her little radio so she could let it sing her to sleep later.

Of course, she didn't stop talking as she got dressed. A pup tent was hardly enough barrier to mute a conversation over, even if Xuko was likely dutifully building a fire while she did so. And why wouldn't he? He didn't have a bikini to change out of, the lucky scad. "I brought some sausages, and a few frozen eels." Klar reported cheerfully. "Along with rolls for them. Oh! And potatoes. Four GOOD sized ones. They're in the speeder. I read that if we put one wrapped in foil in the embers of the fire overnight, it'll be nice and soft and warm in the morning, and that sounds a little exciting!"

Rustling, bustling. Klar emerged in a pair of loose, flowing workout pants and a similarly loose t-shirt, large enough to fall to her mid-thigh. Her usual sleeping clothes, with the exception of sandals. Because bugs. Comfortably androgynous, both because she'd both come out to him and they'd settled that they wouldn't be sleeping together. She bounced right past Xuko and any fire he was making to the speeder and began digging through it with eager delight. "Aaaaalso....." She sang.

Klar lifted up a sealed bag of mallows, chocolate, and cinnamon crackers. In her typical fashion, they were carefully portioned and labelled for what her preliminary research had suggested was the optional ratio. "...I brought the stuff we need for more'stufars!" The Codru-Ji exclaimed proudly, brandishing a pair of cooking skewers styled after lightsabers. "It wasn't easy to find the crackers, but I think it'll be well worth it!"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Tag: Klar
Mentions: Azurine Varek

Xuko didn't change out of his swim trunks yet, but he did throw on a sleeveless shirt that served as the base layer to his Jedi robes. The Zabrak smiled to himself as Klar's commentary continued in spite of them being in two different spaces, making a mental note that the Codru-Ji could probably not handle the Iridonian rations he'd packed. That was no slight on her, of course; the diet he had grown up on used spice liberally and in ways many species' taste buds couldn't decipher. What was a burst of different flavors to Iridonians usually translated to varying degrees of my mouth is on fire!1!!1! to other species. Spice was to Iridonians what the color white was to Kaminoans.

As he listened, Xuko also kept an ear out for the things he couldn't eat: the rolls, the potatoes, and most regretfully, the more'stufars. And while he and Klar had decided not to share a tent tonight, Xuko still didn't want the discomfort that came with ingesting chocolate or marshmallows. Idly, Xuko wondered if Azurine Varek had any advice for navigating the galactic food scene when so many species had evolved beyond being carnivorous.

"I regret that I cannot eat the more'stufars" he said, coaxing the fire to life, "but that will leave more for you." Simple math, as far as he was concerned. "I do appreciate your preparedness, though."

A few minutes later the fire was blazing happily and Xuko breathed deeply, appreciating the feeling of dry heat on his skin once again. He would wait until the fire died down to a more consistent temperature before beginning cooking the eels and sausages. "What are some of your favorite foods?" he asked Klar, to help pass the time.

 

[Klar]

While the allure of melted mallows and chocolate was tempting, Klar had been assured that a core part of the more'stufars experience was the communal aspect of eating something burning and sugary and mildly dangerous with friends. Xuko not being able to participate did sap a bit of the allure. She considered the bag for a moment, then decided she'd maybe try some later if she was in the mood. She did pop a mallow into her mouth, though, completely ruining her carefully-planned ratio of ingredients.

Though, Klar could only have been honest with herself - that ratio would not have survived for very long.

Making her way back over to the fire with a fresh thermos of iced tea, Klar found a spot nearish to Xuko and set herself down. The fire was... nice. She wished she'd paid more attention to how it was made, but there was always time to learn and refine that lesson later. Still chewing the overlarge mallow, Klar pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and wrapped it around her wrist while fiddling with her thermos. Unbound, her blonde hair fell to between her shoulderblades.

"You already know this one." Klar snickered once she'd cleared her airway of sugar. "The corned beef, cabbage, cheese sandwich I mentioned. That's my favorite." She explained. Rather than pour a cup of iced tea, she simply sipped directly from the thermos. Unsweetened cold brew - she'd made a whole jug of the stuff, and it currently sat in the speeder for safe keeping. Klar offered the thermos to Xuko with a smile.

"Are we doing questions, now? Does that mean it's my turn to ask one?" She asked curiously, her eyes lighting up playfully. "You might rue that decision, my darling dearest friend. Think carefully, for there's so very much I want to know!"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

As soon as he asked the question, Xuko mentally facepalmed; he knew this. He'd even gone so far as to search for a place that sold the type of sandwiches Klar enjoyed, but for some reason her favorite food had escaped his memory in the moment. He'd rarely had sandwiches himself, on account of being unable to digest most breads. However, it appeared that this particular sandwich shop had a variety of options for a variety of needs. As he was reminded of this, Xuko filed the possibility away for later.

Xuko nodded an affirmative to Klar's question, sensing the playful challenge in her voice; and he was rarely one to back down from a challenge, even one that might require talking about himself. Assuming he could think of questions even half as fast as Klar could, the conversation would be more or less balanced by their respective communication styles. "Go ahead" he said, idly wondering if he'd ever come up with a nickname for Klar. "We can take turns asking questions. What would you like to know?" Given the depth of their earlier conversation he felt comfortable opening himself up to her questions.

As they talked, Xuko unfolded a flexible pan and its telescoping stand, adjusting its height over the fire. While they could use the oddly adorable lightsaber skewers for the sausages, the fully-frozen eels would require a different approach.

Klar

 

[Klar]

Compared to Zuko's portable grill setup, Klar almost felt that her dinky little skewers were a bit childish. Admittedly, she'd gotten them specifically with the intent of roasting marshmallows for what she'd heard was an iconic childhood camping treat, BUT STILL. As always, she couldn't help but admire his diligence and quiet level of preparedness. How many times today had he quietly taken care of things around the camp while she was occupied? Setting up the fire pit, laying out their towels, bringing proper cooking equipment she hadn't known even existed?

Her desire to ask Xuko an embarrassing question all but evaporated. She was too busy appreciating him and his quiet, unasked acts of service.

Hugging one leg to her chest, chin on her knee, Klar considered Xuko thoughtfully. "In your opinion - and be honest here - what do you think is your most attractive feature?" The Codru-Ji asked curiously, her cheeky smile suggesting that she thought she was being rather clever. And perhaps she was. Her question was a roundabout way of flirting by asserting that he had more than one attractive feature he might name, an attempt to build him up by having him compliment himself. Mostly, though, it was in line with her current train of thought. "And no cop-out answers, mind!" She warned sternly, raising a finger. "Like 'eyes' or something! I want a real answer. Juicy. If it doesn't make you blush a little, you're probably not digging as deep as you aught!"